by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Shellfish beds in Duval County have been prohibited from being harvested since the mid-1980s because of water quality issues.
In November, the Jacksonville Waterways Commission appointed a subcommittee to study steps toward reopening them.
The results of a December subcommittee meeting were given to the commission Wednesday.
Chaired by commission member Scott Shine, the subcommittee worked with the City’s Environmental Quality Division to look into how the beds could be reopened for harvesting.
The beds have been closed because of water salinity levels and the need for a continuous monitoring mechanism following the destruction of a monitoring station in a barge collision.
The subcommittee said to reopen the beds, several actions would be needed, beginning with considerable water quality monitoring by a facility certified for microbiological analysis.
There are only two in Florida, in Apalachicola and Tallahassee. The Duval County Health Department facility is out of date with certification, according to the subcommittee.
If water bodies have improved, especially in levels of fecal coliform, the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services would look into certification, although it would need up to two years of water-quality sampling before it would consider reopening beds for harvesting and consumption.
Testing water levels for fecal coliform levels could take place this winter. Levels tend to run higher in colder weather and following rain. If the results are too high, then the effort could be “abandoned as unfeasible,” according to the subcommittee report.
Improved sewage treatment and the phasing out of septic tanks the last 30 years are factors that could lead to better results now.
As for costs, Vince Seibold and Dana Morton, both of the City’s Environmental and Compliance Department, said during the meeting the department could potentially run tests out of its preliminary budget but would need volunteer assistance from other agencies to do the sampling.
If further tests are needed, then a cost-share agreement would have to be reached with other parties.
The subcommittee recommended that water-quality samples be collected in January and results be presented in February.
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